Doune Castle Audio Guide Large Text Transcript · We’re beneath the gatehouse; the front line of...
Transcript of Doune Castle Audio Guide Large Text Transcript · We’re beneath the gatehouse; the front line of...
Doune Castlelarge print audio guide script
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SFX IN BLUE EXCERPTS FROM MONTY PYTHON AND THE HOLY GRAIL IN GREEN
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STOP 99: Welcome Narrator Welcome to Doune Castle. I’m Terry Jones and in 1974,
some friends and myself made a very silly film here called
Monty Python and the Holy Grail.
SFX IMPOSING MUSIC USED IN FILM. ENDS WITH
SOUND OF NEEDLE SCRATCHING RECORD
Six hundred years previously, however, Doune played a
very important and not at all silly part in the history of
Scotland.
During this tour we’ll be learning more about that history
as we storm the castle walls, explore its rooms and find
out how its inhabitants dressed, ate and went to the
lavatory.
We’ll also meet the man who built Doune: Robert Stewart,
the First Duke of Albany. He was the power behind the
Scottish throne for almost thirty years and was known as
“Scotland’s Uncrowned King.”
You can listen to the commentaries on our tour in any
order you like. Just look out for the signs with the
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audioguide symbol as you explore the castle. Enter the
number on your keypad and the commentary will start
automatically. To pause, press the red stop button – and
the green play button to resume. The two loudspeaker
buttons control the volume. And to hear further
instructions at any time, just enter 95.
But before we go inside, why is Robert Stewart, Duke of
Albany, known as “Scotland’s Uncrowned King”? Well, it’s
an everyday tale of three Roberts, one John, a David, a
James and some kidnapping pirates. To find out more,
press the green button.
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STOP 199: LAYER - MEET THE UNCROWNED KING
Narrator Take some time to admire the imposing view of the castle
while I tell you the story.
Albany effectively ruled Scotland for over thirty years
having the extreme good fortune to be the power behind
the throne of no fewer than three monarchs. The first was
his father.
SFX TRUMPET FANFARE
By 1384 Robert the Second was worn out. Old age and
the constant infighting of his many sons had left him too
enfeebled to govern properly.
SFX ENFEEBLED GROAN
Someone was needed to rule in his place so his eldest
son, John, Earl of Carrick was given royal powers and
appointed lieutenant of the kingdom. Unfortunately, John
had little time to enjoy his newfound responsibilities as
they were taken away when he was crippled by a kick
from a horse.
SFX WHINNY, CLUNK, PAINED GROAN.
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After some behind-the-scenes manoeuvring, the job of de
facto king went to his wily younger brother, Albany… who
having once tasted power was determined to keep it.
SFX TRUMPET FANFARE
Despite his injury, Albany’s crippled sibling John was still
heir to the throne – and when the enfeebled Robert the
Second finally died, John became king. Because the
name John was considered unlucky for a Scottish ruler,
however he rather confusingly took the title, Robert the
Third.
SFX “Huh?”
But although he had the crown and sceptre, Robert (or
John to his friends) still didn’t have any real power. Albany
had made sure that behind the scenes, he remained the
one making all the important decisions.
SFX TRUMPET FANFARE
Which brings us to Albany’s nephew James – Robert the
Third’s son and now the heir to the throne. Concerned
about his child’s safety, the king packed him off to France,
but on the way James was captured by pirates. They
handed him over to Henry the Fourth of England, who
imprisoned him and demanded a ransom.
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When Robert the Third heard the news, he became
extremely depressed at the loss of his only surviving son.
Declaring himself ‘the worst of kings and the most
wretched of men” he said that on his death he wanted to
be buried beneath a midden – that’s a heap of household
waste.
As it turned out in 1406 he was laid to rest at Paisley
Abbey – making his son, James the First. Fit and strong,
there was nothing stopping James from being a first class
monarch – apart from the fact that he was still a prisoner
of the English. Who then could look after the country until
he was free? Why none other than Robert Stewart, Duke
of Albany.
SFX TRUMPET FANFARE All of which goes to show that one or indeed several
men’s misfortune can be another’s golden opportunity.
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STOP 95: INSTRUCTIONS
Narrator You can listen to the commentaries on this tour in any
order you like. Just look out for the audioguide signs
around the castle, and enter the numbers on your keypad.
The commentary will start playing automatically. To pause
the recording at any time, press the red button; and then
the green button when you want to continue. You can
adjust the volume using the loudspeaker buttons. If you
have any difficulties, please return to the desk where the
staff will be happy to help you.
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STOP 1: THE GATEHOUSE ENTRANCE Narrator We’re beneath the gatehouse; the front line of the castle’s
medieval defences. And to get a better idea of what
attackers would have been up against, we’re going to try
storming the place…
Walk down the cobbled slope to the archway at the
entrance.
SFX SOUND OF A SWORD DRAWN FROM
SCABBARD
Monty Python and the Holy Grail: Charge !!!
SFX MAN RUNNING IN ARMOUR, CRASHING INTO A
WOODEN DOOR
You wouldn’t have got far before you’d have been met by
a pair of stout wooden doors like the ones you can see
here. You’re a welcome guest so they’re open, but back in
the fourteenth century, they’d have barred the way.
SFX CREAK
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Now take a step forward and look up at the thin space just
between the top of the wooden gate and the stone
archway inside.
SFX METAL PORTCULLIS SLIDING DOWN MAN
SHOUTS OW
Do you see that slit right above your head? It may have
been part of a portcullis…
SFX SPLASHING OF HOT OIL MAN SHOUTS OW
LOUDER
…Or it might have been a ‘murder hole’, through which
rocks and boiling hot water could be dropped onto the
heads of attackers.
SFX SWORD CLANGING ON METAL AND SOUND OF
ATTACKER CONTINUING ASSAULT
Next you’d have to negotiate a strong Iron Gate, known as
a Yett. It’s the heavy black grid you can see against the
wall just inside the entrance to the tunnel.
SFX METAL CREAK / RUNNING IN ARMOUR
And that was just the beginning. If you made it through the
Yett, your next challenge was to fight your way uphill
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along the passage or ‘pend’. The cobbled floor was
designed to be slippery, so watch your footing as you walk
up the slope.
SFX TWANG
On your right as you continue is the guardroom with its
prison. Well, alright – it’s the shop now, but six hundred
years ago it would’ve been full of burly soldiers; some
shooting crossbow bolts through the arrow slit you can
see further along the wall
SFX TWANG
If that’s not bad enough there would probably have been
another Iron Yett to get through at the top of the slope,
where the passage opens out into the courtyard. By the
time you’d got through all the defences the idea was that
you’d be too exhausted and too full of arrows to go much
further. Certainly beats a burglar alarm and a “beware of
the dog” sticker…
SFX MONTY PYTHON CLIP “Run away, Run away”
This entrance was used in a certain film about a Holy
Grail. If you want to find out more, press the green button.
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STOP 101: LAYER – HOLY GRAIL LOCATION: GATEHOUSE ENTRANCE Narrator As you walk up the path towards the main entrance of the
castle, you’re following in the footsteps as it were of the
mighty Trojan Rabbit. Although in the film it looks as if
King Arthur’s knights are pushing the rabbit up the hill, it
was actually being pulled up the slope by a winch on the
back of a van hidden inside the gate. You might remember
that the knights plan to surprise the enemy by hiding
inside a wooden animal delivered as a gift – a brilliant
scheme only foiled by the fact they forget to hide in it…
MPATHG SCENE 8 [rumble rumble squeak] MUTTERING GUARDS: ce labon a bunny do wha? un cadeau? a present! oh, un cadeau. oui oui hurry! wha-? let's go! [rumble rumble squeak] ARTHUR: What happens now?
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BEDEMIR: Well, now, uh, Lancelot, Galahad, and I wait until nightfall, and then leap out of the rabbit, taking the French by surprise – not only by surprise, but totally unarmed! ARTHUR: Who leaps out? BEDEMIR: Uh, Lancelot, Galahad, and I. Uh, leap out of the rabbit, uh and uh.... ARTHUR: Oh.... BEDEMIR: Oh.... Um, l-look, if we built this large wooden badger— [twong] ALL: Run away! Run away! Run away! Run away! [splat]
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STOP 2: THE CELLARS SFX ECHO, UNDERGROUND INTERIOR.
Narrator These are the storage cellars, where most of the castle’s
essential supplies were kept.
The entrance you’ve just passed through wouldn’t have
been here in the 1400s. If it had been, it would have
allowed attackers access to all the food – which as any
castle builder will tell you is a bit daft. If you stand with
your back to the doorway [pause] and look to your right,
you’ll see that the original entrance was from the
courtyard, which was much more sensible.
As the Earl of Menteith, Albany was in receipt of rents paid
to him by those living on his land. Most of these were paid
not in cash but in meat and grain, both of which were
stored down here. The cooler air helped keep the food
fresh, and as most people in the Middle Ages knew better
than to drink the water, it also kept wine and ale nice and
chilled.
Let’s go further down into the cellars now. There’s a low
doorway into the next room. Go through it. [Good pause] Then go down the steps to the small domed room beyond.
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SFX ROPE CREAKING, MEN GRUNTING FROM
ABOVE AS STUFF IS HAULED UP [Pause]
It’s another storage room… but if you look up to the ceiling
you’ll see a trapdoor through which its contents could be
hauled into Albany’s private chambers directly above, a
sort of medieval service elevator.
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STOP 3: COURTYARD ENTRANCE SFX COUTYARD AMBIENCE, BUSY, HORSES,
CLANGING, CONVERSATION,
Narrator The castle courtyard. In the late fourteenth century, this
space would have been buzzing with life as liveried
servants scurried back and forth fetching water from the
well. The one you can see is a Victorian reconstruction,
but it stands on the site of the medieval original.
SFX AMBIENCE FADES OUT
Above the main entrance to the castle and the shop where
you collected your audioguide, is the gatehouse tower,
where Albany’s private chambers were. As the most
secure part of the castle it was the safest place to live and
work. And across the courtyard, in the right-hand corner of
the square, is the kitchen tower, the warmest place to live
and work.
We’ll learn more about both these buildings on our tour,
but for now can you see the row of stone chutes projecting
out from just below the top of the kitchen tower? They’re
Victorian reconstructions of the original medieval drainage
system which allowed rainwater to flow off the roof.
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Now look just to the left of the kitchen tower. Can you see
the blocked up archway at the bottom of the stairs?
(pause) That was once the Postern Gate, a type of
tradesmen’s entrance, which doubled as a handy escape
route if Doune was under siege.
To the left of the postern gate, continuing anti-clockwise
around the courtyard, is a curtain wall with four windows.
Albany planned another range of buildings here, possibly
as luxurious living quarters for himself and his wife, but
they were never completed. If you think this castle is
impressive now imagine what it would have been like if
those windows had rooms to go with them.
It’s obvious that Albany had even bigger plans for Doune
and why they were never realised remains a mystery. He
was known as a big spender so money was probably no
object. It’s more likely that he simply ran out of time and
his ultimate vision for the castle died with him.
You can find out more about the castle by visiting the
courtyard undercrofts.
In the 1400s, they would have been used to store food
and drink, but now they house a modern display that
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reveals more about Doune’s history. The undercrofts are
situated between the two towers at courtyard level; if you
look you’ll see two doorways next to each other. The
exhibition is through the smaller archway on the left.
If you’re a Monty Python fan and want to know which bits
of The Holy Grail we filmed here, put down your coconuts
and press the green button.
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STOP 103: LAYER – HOLY GRAIL LOCATION: THE COURTYARD Narrator When Michael Palin and I revisited Doune a few years
ago, we were both struck by how much smaller the castle
is than it had become in our imaginations.
Perhaps that’s got something to do with the fact that when
we were filming in 1974, Doune doubled for a number of
different locations. One of them was Swamp Castle. When
we shot Herbert’s wedding day festivities (that’s the one
where Lancelot kills most of the wedding guests) we filled
this courtyard with people - many of them visitors to
Doune who we persuaded to dress up and be silly for the
day.
You might remember that Lancelot killed two guards in a
row as he stormed the castle. If you look at the kitchen
tower you can see where it happened - over there on the
right-hand set of stairs.
Both guards were actually played by the same young man
- - a student who happened to be visiting the set, and who
said he was happy to fall off the wall
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onto some barrels. In those days Health & Safety wasn’t a
problem.
We also filmed several scenes along the east wall. If you
stand with your back to the main entrance to the
courtyard, beneath the gatehouse tower, that’s the wall
you can see over to your left.
MPATHG Scene 8 GUARD: You don't frighten us, English pig-dogs! Go and boil your bottoms, sons of a silly person. I blow my nose at you, so-called Arthur-king, you and all your silly English kaniggets. Thppppt! GALAHAD: What a strange person. ARTHUR: Now look here, my good man! GUARD: I don't want to talk to you no more, you empty headed animal food trough whopper! I fart in your general direction! You mother was a hamster and your father smelt of elderberries. GALAHAD: Is there someone else up there we could talk to? GUARD: No, now go away or I shall taunt you a second time-a!
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Narrator The east wall is also where Arthur and his men are driven
back by a merciless bombardment of farm animals.
MPATHG scene 8 GUARD: (Fetchez la vache!) [moo] ARTHUR: If you do not agree to my commands, then I shall— [twong] [mooooooo] Jesus Christ! Right! Charge! ALL: Charge! [mayhem] GUARD: Ah, this one is for your mother! [twong] ALL: Run away! GUARD: Thpppt
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STOP 4: KITCHEN TOWER EXTERIOR
Narrator Look up at the kitchen tower. Now imagine you’re locked
in a chamber on the top floor. How would you escape?
SFX BAGPIPES, DRUMS GENERAL MARTIAL AIR
In 1746 Jacobite forces defeated the Government army at
the battle of Falkirk. One hundred and fifty of the prisoners
taken that day were held at Doune. Among them was
John Home, a volunteer soldier with artistic leanings and
The Reverend Witherspoon, a Presbyterian Minister who
was opposed to the Jacobite cause
SFX FURNITURE BEING DRAGGED ACROSS FLOOR /
SHEETS TEARING / LOW VOICES
Desperate to get away, on a cold moonlit evening they
barricaded themselves inside their chamber and knotted
bed sheets together to make a rope, before climbing down
from their cell. They were followed safely by two of their
companions. A fifth man, however, was rather a portly
customer and when he reached the bottom his extra
weight broke the rope.
SFX ROPE CREAKING AND THEN BREAKING
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They shouted to a sixth man to hang on but he continued
descending and when he got to where the rope was
broken he jumped, landing on top of his fellow escapees
with enough force to break his ankle.
SFX MAN FALLING AND LANDING HEAVILY
John Home gave the injured man a piggyback as far as
the Alloa Road; then told him to get off and hop till they
reached a nearby farmhouse. With a horse borrowed from
the friendly farmer they reached the village of Tulliallan
and from there, travelled across the Firth of Forth to the
anchored warship, “Vulture”, and safety.
SFX SEAGULLS, WAVES LAPPING, SHIPS BELL
You’d think after all that Home and Witherspoon might
have retired to simple lives of obscurity but their
respective futures proved even more eventful. John Home
became a very famous poet and dramatist, while the
Reverend Witherspoon travelled to America. There he
became friends with George Washington and signed the
Declaration of Independence.
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STOP 5: KITCHEN SFX VERY BUSY KITCHEN AMBIENCE
Narrator We’re in the kitchen. Before a big meal in Albany’s day,
this room would have been full of pungent cooking smells,
smoke and lots and lots of people.
SFX AMBIENCE UP. CONTINUES THROUGHOUT
STOP
Pantlers, bakers, waferers, saucers, larderers, butchers,
carvers, pageboys, milk maids, butlers and scullions.
They’d all be busy preparing dinner,
And it wasn’t a light salad.
SFX ANIMAL NOISE Can you see the archway at the end of the room? Mind
your head as you walk underneath it and I’ll tell you what it
was for.
SFX LOUD ROARING OF FLAMES It’s the fireplace. Seventeen feet across and big enough to
house a whole ox roasting over a spit.
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SFX SPIT TURNING Keeping that spit turning would have been a bored,
sweaty lad called a “turnbrochie”. Not the most inspiring of
jobs you might think, but at least he could keep warm, and
if it got too smoky – well, he could lean out of the window.
Slop, blood and general spillages could make things pretty
messy underfoot. If you look on the floor opposite the
fireplace window, you’ll see two drainage channels, which
siphoned away kitchen waste and the water that was used
to sluice down the place when the day’s cooking was
done.
SFX GLUGGING
As well as cooking food, the fireplace helped to preserve it
as meat and fish were hung in the flue to be smoked. The
heat meant it was also the ideal place to keep salt, a vital
preservative that was only useful if it was dry.
Now walk out of the fireplace and straight ahead to the
large window at the other end of the room.
SFX KNIVES SHARPENED ON STONE
Can you see all those deep grooves cut in the stone to the
left of the window? They were made by the kitchen staff,
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sharpening their various knives – and are the only trace
that remains of a whole range of equipment used by
medieval cooks. There were flesh hooks for pulling meat
out of cauldrons; bakestones for preparing oatcakes;
pestles and mortars for grinding spices; and the usual
gridirons, ladles, pots and pans.
I don’t know about you but I’m feeling peckish.
If you’ve seen the film Monty Python and the Holy Grail
you might find this room a bit familiar. To hear more, press
the green button.
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STOP 105: LAYER - HOLY GRAIL LOCATION: THE KITCHEN Narrator It’s amazing what you can do with a single room. MPATHG Scene 11 GALAHAD: Open the door! Open the door! [pound pound pound] In the name of King Arthur, open the door! [squeak thump] [squeak boom] ALL: Hello! ZOOT: Welcome gentle Sir knight, welcome to the Castle Anthrax. Narrator It all happened in this room believe it or not. The huge
fireplace was the bedroom in which Sir Galahad was
examined by two nubile lady doctors
MPATHG Scene 11 GALAHAD: They're doctors?!
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ZOOT: Uh, they've had a basic medical training, yes. GALAHAD: B-but— ZOOT: Oh, come come, you must try to rest! Doctor Piglet, Doctor Winston, practice your art. Narrator The kitchen was also the room Sir Galahad accidentally
stumbled into during bath-time and from which he was
rescued against his better judgement by Sir Lancelot.
MPATHG Scene 11 GALAHAD: Look, I'm fine! LAUNCELOT: Come on! GALAHAD: Now look, I can tackle this lot single-handed! DINGO: Yes! Let him tackle us single-handed! GIRLS: Yes! Tackle us single-handed! LAUNCELOT: No, Sir Galahad, come on! GALAHAD: No, really, honestly, I can go back and handle this lot easily! DINGO: Oh, yes, he can handle us easily. GIRLS: Yes, yes!
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GALAHAD: Wait! I can defeat them! There's only a hundred and fifty of them! DINGO: Yes, yes, he'll beat us easily, we haven't a chance. GIRLS: Yes, yes. [boom]
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STOP 6: SERVERY SFX ATMOS REDOLENT OF A BUSY RESTAURANT WITH DISHES BEING CONSTANTLY PASSED TO WAITERS.
Narrator This is the Servery, where a procession of bustling
servants carried the plates of food through to the great
hall. Can you see those two arched openings in the wall?
They functioned as serving hatches so the servants could
collect the dishes for the table without having to enter the
kitchen.
We tend to imagine the medieval servant as being little
more than a miserable slave, but that’s far from the truth.
Young people from both rich and poor backgrounds
entered service at about ten or twelve years old. Those
from the lower end of the social scale could find it opened
the door to a much better world as they learned new skills
and met people who could offer them employment in the
future.
Service was a valuable introduction to adult
responsibilities and an integral part of medieval society.
SFX CLATTERING OF DROPPED PLATES
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STOP 7: MARY QUEEN OF SCOTS ROOM
SFX INTERIOR
Narrator It’s easy to forget when walking around a draughty castle,
all bare stone and echoey rooms, that in their heyday
these imposing buildings were warm and welcoming
spaces.
These three rooms, for example, probably made up a
single suite or apartment for the use of Albany’s guests.
Though there’s no evidence to suggest the queen actually
stayed here, they’re known collectively as ‘The Mary
Queen of Scots Room’, and would have provided
comfortable sleeping quarters for visiting knights, abbots
and merchants.
SFX FEET WALKING UP STONE STEPS, CRACKLING
FIRE
What would it have been like to spend a night in the
castle?
The stairs you’ve just climbed would be pitch-black and
treacherous, but a servant would have lit your way. The
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fire would already be ablaze and your candle would be
placed just to the right of it, over by the window, in the wall
niche that sheltered it from draughts.
SFX CRACKLING FIRE, WIND WHISTLING OUTSIDE
The windows would be tightly shuttered and colourful
tapestries would hang down the walls making the place
even cosier
SFX FAINTISH KITCHEN SOUNDS
This room is above the kitchen so when meals were being
prepared it might have been noisy. On cold winter days,
however, when the warmth rose up from below, that was
probably overlooked. You might have received your own
guests here for a game of chess or cards…. then settled
down for the night on a soft feather mattress beneath a
brightly coloured woollen cover. The bed would have
probably been in one of the adjoining rooms – where an
ensuite privy was also laid on.
SFX FEMALE YAWNING
So for all of its military strength, the castle had its softer
side too. If there had been a “Luxury Homes” magazine
in the 1400s Doune would have certainly made a good
cover.
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STOP 8: PRIVY
SFX INTERIOR COLD HOWLING WIND
Narrator Necessarium, Jakes, Draught, Garderobe or Gong: no
suite of guest rooms is complete without its own en-suite
toilet. [Pause] It’s that low stone block covered with a
metal grill, just below the window.
Walk over and take a look down.
Waste dropped thorough the hole, down a chute and
would have fallen into a special pit or strategically placed
barrel down below. To prevent overflowing, it was
someone’s unpleasant job to regularly clean out these
malodorous receptacles. Talk about a bad day at the
office.
SFX FAINT SQUELCHING, GRUMPY MUTTERING
We often think of a medieval lavatory as a cold and smelly
place, but actually, it could be surprisingly comfortable.
SFX WIND WHISTLING
With windows open to the fresh air for obvious reasons,
the room was a bit chilly and certainly no place to sit for
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any length of time. This one however was next to the
chimney flue so it would have been warmer than most.
The privy itself would have had a wooden seat possibly
with a cloth cover. Toilet paper was still on the drawing
board, but if you face the privy and look over to your left,
you’ll see a hole in the wall that might have contained
convenient strips of linen. If linen was not available, other
scraps of fabric, moss, or leaves might do. Visitors to
some medieval privies apparently resorted to using shards
of broken pottery.
SFX “OUCH” (PAUSE) “OUCH”
Ouch, don’t fancy that.
By the way, have you noticed the deep alcove opposite
the privy? It may have once contained robes, shoes and
hats. In common with many medieval lavatories, this room
might also have been used to store clothes.
To hear more about medieval clothing, press the green
button. Otherwise, mind your head on the arch as you
leave.
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STOP 108: LAYER – PRIVY: MEDIEVAL FASHION Narrator A high born medieval lady thought nothing about hanging
her posh frocks in the toilet but would have been outraged
at the idea of actually dressing herself
SFX BUSY FEMALE MUTTERING, APPRECIATIVE
NOISES
A lady’s maid would assist her mistress with dressing and
the styling of her hair. Woman’s hair was grown long but
wearing it down was considered unseemly so it needed to
be expertly coiffured. Often the hair was wound into a pair
of plaits or “Ramshorns” above each ear, although by the
later Middle Ages this was considered to be a bit old
fashioned.
SFX RUSTLE OF CLOTHING
Clothing covered the entire body, and arms and legs were
never knowingly revealed. Beneath her outer garments, a
lady would wear a long linen shift called a camisia and
cloth stockings held in place by ties above each knee.
The tunic was the most common form of clothing, often
with an additional or “super tunic” on top. The wardrobe of
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a noblewoman could also contain elegant dresses, with
richly embroidered sleeves, and delicate shoes with thin
leather soles, which must have been soft to wear but
painful on the bottom of the feet.
In this period, it was the actually the guys who caused
controversy in the fashion world. As the 1300s
progressed, the length of men’s tunics got shorter and
shorter exposing shapely legs (and other parts) clad in
woollen hose. This led to cries of outrage from moralists
and presumably a few sidelong glances from otherwise
respectable ladies.
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STOP 9: THE GREAT HALL 1 SFX INTERIOR, LARGE HALL LOTS OF PEOPLE
DINING, MEDIEVAL MUSIC IN BACKGROUND
Narrator The Great Hall is the heart of the castle. We’re currently
standing at the business end where servants worked hard
keeping the occupants supplied with food and drink.
SFX PLATES CLATTERING FOOD BEING SERVED
Stand with your back to the audioguide sign and look
down at the floor. Can you see the low stone kerb that
runs across this end of the hall, with a break in the
middle? To your right, it marks the position of a wooden
screen, which concealed the servants bustling to and from
the Servery. And to your left, a similar kerb marks the
position of the Buttery, which had nothing to do with
producing butter. The name was taken from the French
word “Bouteillerie”, or bottle store, and it’s where wine and
ale were carried up from the cellar below and decanted
into serving jugs.
Now walk a few paces into the hall. Turn around and look
up. Can you see the wooden Minstrels’ Gallery
overlooking the hall? It’s actually a Victorian
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reconstruction of the medieval original. As a wealthy and
powerful man, Albany could probably have afforded his
own band of professional musicians.
SFX MEDIEVAL MUSIC AT FOREFRONT.
Some of their instruments would have been familiar –
bagpipes, harps, recorders, fiddles and lutes – but others
would be less so. You don’t get many modern pop stars
these days playing nakers (Nay-kur) or sackbuts… but
they were popular in their day. Nakers were metal drums
and sackbuts were a kind of trumpet.
SFX GENERAL MERRIMENT
As you can imagine, when this room was full of diners and
servants it got warm pretty quickly, even though it doesn’t
have a fireplace. Additional heat would have come from
charcoal burning in a fire basket.
SFX CRACKLING FIRE
This would have stood in the raised circle in the middle of
the floor and radiated warmth throughout the hall. So the
fumes didn’t make you choke on your food, there was a
special hole in the ceiling through which they could
escape.
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But it wasn’t just feasting that took place here. To find out
what else the Great Hall was used for, press the green
button.
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STOP 109: LAYER – GREAT HALL: MEDIEVAL JUSTICE
Narrator The Great Hall was far more than a glorified dining room.
It was a place where the nobility and the lower classes
mixed freely and where a lot of important business took
place. It was where tenants paid their rent, and guests
were received. And it was here that Albany would have
meted out justice to local wrong doers. In a world without
a police force, you might think the fourteenth century was
a criminal’s paradise, but there was a very strong judicial
system at work.
The local community policed itself so it was important that
your neighbours considered you of good character or you
could find yourself constantly under suspicion. If you were
a stranger, it was even worse and you might be accused
of something you didn’t do simply because you were from
out of town
When your crime was discovered it was Albany who heard
the case against you. He had authority to intervene in
every detail of your life. He could chastise a man for
allowing the road outside his house to become blocked
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with timber and rubbish; or order a farm labourer’s widow
to re-marry to ensure her dead husband’s crops would
survive.
In the Middle Ages, punishments often embraced a poetic
justice which we don’t have today. For example a
fishmonger found guilty of selling rotten fish, could be put
in the pillory for one hour and have his own fish burnt
under his nose. Or a greengrocer might be pelted with his
own rotten vegetables. [pause] Mind, if you were guilty of
treason, there probably wasn’t anything terribly poetic
about being disembowelled and cut into quarters.
SFX JUDICIAL MUTTERS FROM TERRY JONES, “TAKE
HIM, AWAY”
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STOP 10: THE GREAT HALL 2 SFX INTERIOR, LARGE HALL LOTS OF PEOPLE DINING, MEDIEVAL MUSIC IN BACKGROUND Narrator We’re standing in the Great Hall. In the 1400s the fire
basket in the centre of the room would be blazing away as
the social elite sat and chomped merrily at long wooden
tables running along either side. [pause] Stand on the
raised area of the floor and look down the hall. [pause] This would have been where Albany, his wife and their
most honoured guests sat at high table or “Hie Burde.” A
seat here marked you out as one of the most important
people in the room.
SFX MUMBLE OF DINNER CONVERSATION
As a high table diner, you didn’t just get the best seat in
the house, there were other perks too. Look down the hall
from the raised area where the high table would have
stood. Then walk over to the large window you can see
just to your left.
To the right of the window is a privy for the exclusive use
of Albany and his special guests. And to the left of the
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window, a doorway leads down to a cellar where the Duke
may have kept his finest wines.
Now find a quiet corner of the hall, while I tell you more
about medieval feasts. Dinnertime was between ten in the
morning and noon and generally made up of three
courses. Edible plates made out of bread called Trenchers
were passed around and you took a little of what you
fancied from each, a bit like eating tapas. You speared
and ate your food using a knife. Forks had not yet taken
their place in the cutlery draw.
After a light appetizer of nuts and other nibbles, the first
course (which was all the lower members of the
household would be served) might have included a
popular haggis-like dish called Leche Lombard. It was
made from pork, eggs, pepper, cloves, currents, and
dates, then sweetened and boiled up in a sheep’s bladder, and served with a rich sauce.
The second course consisted of roast meats such as beef,
mutton, venison, or on special occasions, stork or even
peacock. And if there was a third course it was strictly for
the elite. Despite their modern reputation, medieval feasts
were neither crude nor over indulgent. There might have
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been plenty of food but you weren’t expected to eat it all,
and leftovers were often given to the poor.
SFX WOODEN DOOR OPENING
I’m pretty certain that Albany never imagined that
hundreds of years in the future a lot of young men in tights
would be dancing in his hall, singing: “We eat jam and
ham and spam a lot”!
To hear more, press the green button.
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STOP 110: LAYER – HOLY GRAIL LOCATION: GREAT HALL 2 Narrator
Several of the Castle Anthrax scenes were filmed here but
it’s best remembered as the location of Camelot itself. We
only had one day to shoot the entire Knights of the Round
Table song-and-dance number - something like forty shots
- and that included treading on the cat!
All together now… MPATHG Excerpt from Knights of the Round Table
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STOP 11: THE DUKE’S HALL
Narrator This is the Duke’s Hall. Take a good look around. Does
anything strike you as odd?
Wood-panelling, coats of arms… it’s got a very different
feel to the rest of the castle. That’s because these
embellishments don’t date from the medieval period but
from the Victorian age. In 1883, the Fourteenth Earl of
Moray appointed the architect Andrew Kerr to carry out
restoration work on the castle. Kerr was under strict
instructions to create features that were in sympathy with
the castle’s medieval past. And he did a good job – it’s
just that the Victorian concept of what a fourteenth century
room looked like differs from what we believe today.
SFX MANLY CONVERSATION AND LAUGHTER AS
BACKGROUND FOR REST OF STOP
In Albany’s time, the hall would probably have been
dominated by a bed of estate. This resembled a canopied
throne more then a traditional bed and was intended to
show off Albany’s wealth and status. Albany held private
audiences with fellow nobles and honoured guests here
and would have wanted them to be in no doubt about his
social standing. Perhaps that’s why he had such an
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unusual double fireplace built. In those days it was about
keeping up with the Stewarts, not the Joneses…
SFX ROARING FIRE
We don’t know for sure why the fireplace was designed
like this, although it’s possible it acted like a modern two
bar electric fire allowing Albany to turn the heat up or
down depending on how cold it was. Another theory is that
one of the fireplaces acted as an oven or served as place
to keep food warm.
SFX ROARING FIRE LOUDER
I wonder why it never caught on?
SFX SOUNDS OF JUGGLING, CLAPS WHOOPS,
MUSIC ETC
Once the business of the day was over, Albany and his
friends could sit back and enjoy some private
entertainment. In the early Middle Ages entertainment
could be pretty rudimentary. For example the English King
Henry the Second’s favourite entertainer was one Roland
le Pettour whose speciality was said to be “A Leap, A
Whistle and a Fart”.
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SFX LEVEL OF MUSIC GOES UP & JUGGLING ETC
STOPS
But by the time this castle was built, entertainment could
be more sophisticated, with poets reading their own
works, and minstrels singing songs of courtly love.
The Duke of Albany liked a good time and was said by his
contemporaries to be prudent, brave and “loveable of
countenance”. So it might come as a surprise to learn that
he was implicated in a very serious crime.
MUSIC FADES OUT
To hear more, press the green button.
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STOP 111: LAYER – DUKE’S HALL: THE DEATH OF THE DUKE OF ROTHESAY
Narrator Was Robert Stewart, Duke of Albany, a ruthless
murderer? The jury is still out. His contemporaries
describe him as a patient, generous, kind-hearted and jolly
man who spent lavishly and was the life and soul of the
party. And that’s how he might have been remembered if it
wasn’t for one incident back in 1402.
It was common knowledge that he didn’t get on with his
nephew David, Duke of Rothesay, heir to the throne of
Scotland. They’d clashed repeatedly in the past, so much
so that the ailing king Robert the Third had awarded them
the first ever Scottish dukedoms in an attempt to keep the
peace.
When in 1398, the general council of Scotland decided
that Robert the Third was unable to rule effectively, David
was appointed Lieutenant of the Kingdom.
Albany was not a happy man. He’d always been the
power behind the throne and now his authority had been
usurped.
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Fortunately for him, young David made a bit of a hash of
his big opportunity. Married to the daughter of the Earl of
March, he neglected to get a divorce before marrying
somebody else. Incensed by this ill treatment of his
daughter, the Earl persuaded the English king Henry the
Fourth to invade Scotland, which he did, briefly capturing
Edinburgh.
If that wasn’t bad enough when David’s three year term of
office was not renewed he brazenly refused to step down.
Poor old Robert the Third was persuaded by the general
council to order his wayward son’s arrest with the intention
of teaching him a lesson. This attempt at tough love
however backfired disastrously.
David, Duke of Rothesay, was confined at Falkland
Castle, and while there mysteriously fell ill and died. Some
said it was dysentery that killed him but rumours quickly
began to circulate that he’d died of starvation and neglect
– on the orders of none other than Robert Stewart, Duke
of Albany.
The king made a statement that appeared to exonerate
Albany of any wrongdoing. It could be however that he
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didn’t trust the Duke of Albany and was just saving his
own skin.
Albany certainly had a lot to gain by the Duke of
Rothesay’s death but was he responsible? We may never
know for sure.
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STOP 12: DUKE’S CHAMBER Narrator This small six-sided room might not appear very imposing
but in fact it’s the Duke of Albany’s bedchamber.
The original fireplace still exists and just through the
wooden door next to the entrance, you can see the
remains of an en-suite privy with commanding views of the
local countryside.
It was built out over a defensive ditch and was where
Albany could perhaps enjoy some valuable “me” time.
What’s more, if the castle was attacked he had the option
of throwing rocks and other solids down the hole and onto
the heads of besieging soldiers. [ASIDE] Actually, he’d
probably get a servant to do that bit for him.
Albany was probably very proud of Doune and planned to
develop the site further – but sadly he never lived to see
his vision for the castle realised. He died in 1420 at the
age of eighty.
Considering what was to happen in the years that
followed, perhaps that’s just as welI. If you want to
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discover the grim fate of his immediate family, press the
green button now.
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STOP 112: LAYER – THE REVENGE OF THE KING
Narrator Robert Stewart,Duke of Albany, died in 1420 at the grand
old age of eighty. His son Murdoch inherited his position
as Governor of Scotland, Doune Castle and the title Duke
of Albany. The other thing his father had kindly
bequeathed to him however was a nasty feud with King
James the First.
MUSIC
James had spent eighteen frustrating years imprisoned by
the English King, waiting to be ransomed and return
home. As the years dragged on, he laid the blame at
Albany’s door, believing the Duke was too fond of power
to buy his freedom. On his eventual release in 1424, he
ruthlessly took his revenge.
He arrested twenty-six of the most prominent lords of the
land including Murdoch and two of his sons. All were
charged with treason and executed on Heading Hill at
Stirling, ironically within sight of Doune.
The castle was forfeited to the crown and so finally
became a royal residence - although never a seat of
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power. Instead, it served as a royal retreat for hunting trips
and well-earned breaks.
Not what the ambitious Duke of Albany had in mind at all.
MUSIC FADES OUT
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STOP 13: DUCHESS’S HALL SFX INTERIOR SOUNDS OF FEMALES AND FAMILY AT PLAY Narrator This spacious room is the Duchess’s Hall. It’s where
Albany’s wife could relax, entertain, play with her children
or possibly just stand at the windows and admire the
gorgeous views.
Notice the remains of the whitewashed plaster covering
the walls, particularly to the left of where you came in. It’s
easy to imagine castles being austere, gloomy places but
many boasted whitewashed walls making their interiors
light and airy. Doune was probably no exception - though
the remnants you can see here most likely date from a few
centuries after Albany’s time.
You might at first think this chamber has an unusually high
ceiling. But if you look closely you can see on either side
of the room, about two thirds of the way up the walls, a
row of huge stone corbels. They supported the beams of
another floor which has since been lost. In the medieval
period, the most important members of the Duke and
Duchesses staff would have slept up there; while the rest
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bedded down wherever they could, probably in the Great
Hall.
It’s worth remembering that when the Duke and Duchess
were at home the castle would be busy and full of life,
SFX EMPTY ECHO EFFECT ON VOICE
but when they were not it would be very quiet.
They would’ve taken their household staff with them
wherever they went, leaving only a few permanent
retainers behind.
Most of the furniture in these private chambers was
designed to be dismantled and transported on carts, so
they could take that with them too. And you thought taking
four suitcases with you on a weekend break was a bit
excessive.
Python fans may think the room looks familiar. To find out
why, press the green button.
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STOP 113: LAYER – HOLY GRAIL LOCATION: DUCHESS’ HALL Narrator If you’ve suddenly got a sinking feeling, it’s probably
because we filmed most of the scenes in Swamp Castle in
this one room. You might recognise the window to the
right of the fireplace…
MPATHG Scene 26 FATHER: One day, lad, all this will be yours! HERBERT: What, the curtains? FATHER: No, not the curtains, lad. All that you can see! Stretched out over the hills and valleys of this land! This'll be your kingdom, lad! HERBERT: But, Mother— FATHER: Father, lad, Father. HERBERT: But Father, I don't want any of that. FATHER: Listen, lad. I've built this kingdom up from nothing. When I started here, all there was was swamp. All the kings said I was daft to build a castle in a swamp, but I built it all the same, just to show 'em. It sank into the swamp. So, I built a second one. That sank into the swamp. So I built a third one. That burned down, fell over, and then sank into the swamp. But the fourth one stayed up. An' that's what you’re gonna get, lad – the strongest castle in these islands.
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HERBERT: But I don't want any of that -- I'd rather— FATHER: Rather what?! HERBERT: I'd rather... just... [music] ...sing! Narrator That’s enough of that… Now look at the wall opposite the
main entrance to the room… It’s got three alcoves. We
built a fake doorway across the archway that leads to the
alcove on the far left… and then installed two of the
world’s worst sentries to stand guard.
MPATHG Scene 26 FATHER Guards! Make sure the Prince doesn't leave this room until I come and get 'im. GUARD #1: Not to leave the room even if you come and get him. GUARD #2: Hic! FATHER: No, no. Until I come and get 'im. GUARD #1: Until you come and get him, we're not to enter the room. FATHER: No, no, no. You stay in the room and make sure 'e doesn't leave.
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GUARD #1: And you'll come and get him. GUARD #2: Hic! FATHER: Right.
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STOP 14: ORATORY SFX RELIGIOUS MUSIC
Narrator This alcove was a private chapel or ‘Oratory’ for Albany
and his wife.
In the 1400s, it would have been screened off from the
rest of the hall. The square hole you can see cut through
the wall allowed the duchess’s ladies in waiting to listen to
the service from the room next door.
SFX MUSIC FADES OUT
On the wall to the left of the window, you can see three
carved recesses. These were integral to the celebration of
the Roman Catholic Mass. The opening at the top would
have held a consecrated vessel containing water and
wine. The octagonal bowl below was a piscina where it
would have been washed out at the end of the service.
Just to the left, along the wall, would have been the altar.
Celebrating a daily mass was not unusual. In a more
secular age, it’s difficult, perhaps, to imagine how much
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influence religion had on people’s lives in the medieval
period. It even dictated how you measured your time.
The average day was divided into eight segments or
Canonical Hours. Each segment represented a period of
prayer from Prime at six AM to Compline at eight PM;
people lived their work, leisure and personal lives in the
spaces in-between.
The church also wielded a great deal of financial and
political power. Its representatives were answerable to no
one except the Pope, and Albany would have been
obliged to treat them with respect.
SFX COINS CLINKING
He might have donated considerable sums of money to
the church in order to secure what were known as
“Indulgences”. These provided peace of mind to anyone
who was worried about being punished for their sins in the
afterlife. An indulgence didn’t forgive the sinner – you still
needed a priest to grant absolution for that – but an
indulgence could guarantee you a full or partial remission
for the punishment.
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It was hardly a get out of jail free card but it was better
than nothing.
Since this oratory gave Albany and his wife a direct line to
the Almighty, it may have meant that to them it was the
most important room in the castle.
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STOP 15: DUCHESS’ BEDCHAMBER
Narrator This is the Duchess’s bedchamber. Her name was
Muriella de Keith and she was Albany’s second wife.
Noble ladies slept in different rooms to their husbands, in
close proximity to their attendants and maids. In the
middle ages, a lady’s bedchamber was often more like a
salon where she would entertain her women friends and
male visitors. They might drink wine, have a game of
chess, play music or read a book. Reading seems to have
been a very important activity for noble women, although
reading silently was considered to be somewhat miserable
and anti social.
SFX MURMURED SOUNDS OF LADY READING TO
HERSELF
Women read aloud to themselves or to each other and like
men enjoyed tales of romance and daring-do.
You might notice that unlike some of the other chambers
on our tour, Muriella’s room has no fireplace or ensuite
privy. We know Albany planned to build a range of
apartments along the southern range of the castle,
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possibly as luxurious living quarters for his family. They
were never completed, but it’s feasible that this and other
rooms in the Gatehouse Tower were only intended to be
used temporarily. Muriella might have been putting up with
somewhat basic accommodation while she waited for
more comfortable quarters to be built.
As you make your way out of the room, watch out for her
privy. It’s to the left as you exit – along the dark, chilly
corridor… just beside the stairs.
SFX ANNOYED FEMALE MUTTERING
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STOP 16: BATTLEMENTS Narrator Time for a bracing walk along the battlements. I hope for
your sake it’s not raining.
Turn left at the door and watch your footing as you
continue along the walkway. Aren’t the views stunning?
Doune Castle commands one of the main routes to the
Highlands, so you can appreciate it was of great strategic
importance. The castle’s elevated location made it a pretty
difficult place to sneak up on. Standing at the neck of a
promontory, it’s defended by water on either side.
As you might expect given its natural advantages, the
site’s military significance stretches back long before the
castle was built. The series of steep defensive banks and
ditches you can see around the building might date from
an earlier structure. It’s thought an Iron Age fort or dun
may have stood here, which could explain the area’s
name. And in the first century AD the Roman army, who
also knew a good defensive position when they saw one,
built their own timber fort on a plateau just to the
southwest of here. [Low aside] (It’s now a cricket pitch).
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If this is the end of your tour, don’t forget to return your
player to the shop before you leave the castle walls. And
do mind your step on the way down – the stairs are
narrow. If it’s a nice day you might like to take a stroll
around the grounds. There’s a sculpture trail and some
beautiful countryside to enjoy.
SFX MONTY PYTHON MUSIC BEGINS AND GETS INCREASINGLY MORE STIRRING AS TERRY JONES BECOMES INCREASINGLY DRAMATIC
As you leave, take a final admiring look at this beautiful
castle, which stands proudly at the forefront of Scottish
history, defying both time and the elements.
MPATHG SCENE 32 KING ARTHUR: What an eccentric performance!
Narrator (calm again) Look to the skies above and maybe you’ll see a swallow
swooping majestically above these very battlements.
[Aside] Obviously that’s an African swallow, not a
European one, and it would have to be unladen or at the
very least only slightly laden, unless it was joined by a
cord to another swallow who could…….
SFX TERRY FADES OUT WITH MUSIC
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STOP 17: COURTYARD
SAM: Hallo agus fàilte! Hello and welcome to this special mini-
tour. Is mise Sam Heughan. I’m Sam Heughan and I play
Jamie Fraser, the dashing warrior hero of the hit TV
drama Outlander, based on the novels by Diana
Gabaldon.
We filmed here at Doune Castle in late 2013 and early
2014. Of course, in the show, the castle goes by the
fictional name, Castle Leoch. It’s the place where the
heroine, Second World War nurse Claire, is mysteriously
transported from 1945 to the Scottish Highlands in 1743.
In one scene, Claire wanders on the wall walk, up to your
left, where she looks out over the herb garden, the
stables, and me — or rather, Jamie. This courtyard looked
very different to the way it does now, though: rickety
wooden structures were built to re-create a working castle:
we had stables, animal pens, a blacksmith’s shed, open
fires, wagons loaded with straw, horses, chickens, goats –
and loads of mud.
But Outlander’s set designers and crew had to protect the
fragile medieval cobbles just beneath the grass. So tarps
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were laid, then covered by sand, straw, plastic
cobblestones — and fifty tonnes of topsoil to make all that
mud! Let me tell you, it took some doing to manoeuvre
wheelbarrow after wheelbarrow through the castle doors!
Some of the structures were left in place over the winter.
Funnily enough, some visitors thought they were really
part of Doune Castle!
The first time we filmed here, in October and November, it
was raining and freezing cold. The crew all wore wet
weather gear, and I wore… well, a kilt. But my co-star,
Catriona Balfe, who plays Claire, she had it even worse.
She had to stand around in just a thin dress. It was better
the following March — the sun was out and when we
weren’t shooting, the cast and crew caught a few rays!
And we also had a laugh re-enacting scenes from Monty
Python!
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STOP 18: KITCHEN
SAM: Yes, you’re standing in Mrs Fitz’s kitchen! Colum
MacKenzie may be laird of the castle, but you get the
feeling that the place is really run by the feisty Mrs Fitz.
With its arched ceiling and huge fireplace, the kitchen’s
where Mrs Fitz boils up a brew that Claire uses to clean
Jamie’s wounds. And where she offers Claire a nice blob
of porridge in a wooden bowl. Claire gracefully declines.
In other kitchen scenes, cooks and assistants tend open
fires, pound dough, and prepare meat for the evening
meal.
But actually, none of that was filmed here. The kitchen’s
made of solid stone, but it could have been easily
damaged if crews hung lights or attached anything to the
walls. So the production team re-created the kitchen as a
set in the studios at Cumbernauld, not far from Glasgow.
They made an exact cast of a single square-metre patch
of stone wall — not from the kitchen but from the steading,
a farm building outside the castle. They then repeated the
cast several times to create full walls and even the serving
hatches and fireplaces you see here. Pretty clever, eh?
The re-creation was so lifelike, so stunning, that even the
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castle staff couldn’t believe it wasn’t the original. And
visitors usually think that we really did film here.
In this stage-kitchen, the crew really went 18th century:
they hung dead birds from hooks and spread baskets of
vegetables and herbs on tables for Claire to use in her
medicines. They even spilled fake animal blood on the
floor — and roasted a whole pig.
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STOP 19: WALL WALK SAM: This wall walk overlooks the front of the castle, where the
Outlander team built an entire village: houses, animal
pens, loads of straw and lots of open fires. Smoke
canisters re-created some good old Scottish mist – so
many canisters that one staff member working in the
nearby shop was practically smoked out! But when Jamie
and Claire rode through the village and into the castle
courtyard, it really looked like the 18th century. And that
ride up to the castle… it’s absolutely magnificent. You
don’t even have to use your imagination. The past is right
in front of you.
The stables were also re-created out here, where Jamie
first tells Claire he’s an outlaw. It became one of my
favourite places to look at the castle.
The grassy area to the right was where we filmed a game
of Shinty. That’s the Highlands version of field hockey —
only a lot more extreme. Sticks doubled as weapons and,
to the sounds of a lively fiddle, Jamie and his uncle,
Dougal, traded a few good knocks. Actually, both Graham
McTavish, who plays Dougal, and I are quite
competitive… and since a lot of the extras were real
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Shinty players, things escalated pretty quickly. Luckily, our
sticks had rubber-tipped ends!
On a much more sedate note, the 1945 scene where
Claire and her husband Frank visit Castle Leoch was also
filmed in front of you. The Outlander crew used CGI to
crumble the castle walls and add in centuries of
overgrowth.
While we filmed here at Doune Castle, I learned a bit of
Gaelic. It’s not been easy for me to learn, but it’s great fun
to speak — and it’s so poetic, it opened up a whole world
for me. Like the word sgian-dubh, which is a small knife
Highlanders carried. The name translates to a ‘dark’ or
‘hidden’ knife. And if you’re a fan of the novels, you may
recognize ‘mon-ign-dah’: my brown haired lass.
I hope you’ve enjoyed the tour. Tapadh leibh agus
tìoraidh. Thanks for listening and goodbye.
Or, if you’d like to hear more about my experience with the
Gaelic language, press the green button.
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190 Layer: Gaelic Experiences
SAM:
When I first auditioned for the part of Jamie Fraser, I
wasn’t aware that I would actually have to learn Gaelic!
And so when we started our boot camp, umm, which was
a few weeks before filming, we had the physical side, the
riding horses, the swordplay, and we also had Gaelic
lessons.
Obviously I was born and brought up in Scotland and I
had heard people maybe talking it up in the Isles, some of
my family used to live up on the west coast of Scotland, so
I’d seen it on place names, on road signs, but never really
experienced it.
And very quickly I discovered that this was the way into
the character for me. I realised that, you know, Jamie
Fraser is amongst many other things, his first language is
Gaelic. And so I wanted to use that in the show – that it
was a colour that we could bring to him, that when he
wasn’t thinking about who he was with, or he was alone,
or surprised, that he couldn’t help himself, that he would
speak a word.
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And then as we… I began to learn more and more about
the Gaelic, I just really sort of fell in love with it. I think it’s
a very descriptive language, I realised that a lot of Scottish
place names and mountains, err, have Gaelic names, and
in those Gaelic names there’s a sort of hidden meaning
and I just, I really felt that this was the core of who Jamie
is, his character, and this highlander that has these old
traditions. And also a link to his past and to his ancestors.
There was a great scene in castle Leoch, in the Great Hall
where Jamie stands up for Leary, and takes a
punishment, and a lot of that scene is in Gaelic, and
explained through Gallis to Claire, and also to the
audience. And that was very challenging, but I think it
really adds a lot to the show, and also you know, the battle
stuff, the rousing of the Jacobites that Graham Mactavish
does, it all adds this real weight and real authenticity to the
show.